Lattice strains in Mg, Zn and Cd powders produced by grinding have been analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction. The lattice strain (e) and Debye-Waller factor (B) are determined from the half-widths and integrated intensities of the Bragg reflections. In all three cases viz. Mg, Zn and Cd, the Debye-Waller factor is found to increase with the lattice strain. From the correlation between the strain and effective Debye-Waller factor, the Debye-Waller factors for zero strain have been estimated for Mg, Zn and Cd. The variation of energy of vacancy formation as a function of lattice strain has been studied.The Debye-Waller factor is an important lattice dynamical property. Although there is considerable X-ray work on the Debye-Waller factors of Mg, Zn and Cd [1][2][3][4]. It is interesting to study the effect of lattice strains on the Debye-Waller factors of these metals. Inagaki et al [5,6] showed that in several non-metallic powders, the strains produced during grinding have a significant effect on the Debye-Waller factors measured from X-ray diffraction intensities. Sirdeshmukh et al [7] observed the effect of lattice strains on the Debye-Waller factors in semiconductor powder materials. Gopi Krishna and Sirdeshmukh [8] studied the effect of lattice strains on the Debye-Waller factor of ytterbium metal. In the present investigation the results of a systematic study of the effect of lattice strains on the Debye-Waller factors of hexagonal Mg, Zn and Cd metals are reported.The powder samples were obtained by gently filing highly pure Mg, Zn and Cd Note